How To Start A Business In Arkansas
Doing business in Arkansas is quite similar to doing business in some other American States in the sense that you must comply with certain rules and regulations to avoid operating illegally.
Ranging from legal to normal business requirements, there are a couple of essential things you have to find out before setting up a business in Arkansas.
In this article, we’d gladly engage you in informative reading that would expose you to all of these essential requisites for running an Arkansas business.
Finally, below is how you can start a business in Arkansas and run it without any glitches.
Tips for starting a business in Arkansas
» Define a Legal Structure for Your Business
Business legal structures basically come in four kinds being LLC, corporation, partnership, and sole proprietorship.
Factually, it’s always crucial to find out the most suitable legal structure for you with respect to the kinds of business benefits such as :
- financing,
- tax reduction and
- liability protection you are expecting.
Due to the meticulous consideration often associated with this decision, it’s advisable that you contact an attorney.
They are more capable of revealing the pros and cons of each legal structure and advising you on what is best for you.
» Be Unique with Your Business Name
After deciding the appropriate legal structure for your Arkansas business, the next step is to choose a catchy name for it.
Not only should this name be catchy and pleasant-sounding, but it should also be unique.
This will help to distinguish between your own business from the ones that have been registered with the Secretary of State in Arkansas.
If you’re establishing your business as a corporation, you’ll be required to append the term ”company” to its name but in the case of an LLC, the required appendage is ”LLC”.
In whichever Arkansas county you’ve chosen to ply your business, you’ll be required to file a DBA certificate if you’re establishing your business as a partnership or sole proprietorship:
- if the business name doesn’t match the surnames of partners (in the case of a partnership)
- or your own legal name (in the case of a sole proprietorship).
More importantly, endeavor to conduct a trademark check at both federal and State levels so that you can be sure you aren’t using the actual name of an existing business or something strikingly similar to it.
» Obtain Insurance Coverage
Needless to say, insurance is an essential thing to obtain for almost all business types.
However, there isn’t any special need to specify the kinds of insurance coverage you can obtain for an Arkansas business since they’re often the same throughout the 50 States of the U.S.
And if you’re still keen to find out more regarding this, do well to visit other websites with information about the available insurance in the country.
» Obtain the Required Licenses and Permits
To avoid having your Arkansas business clamped down on by the government or your industry’s business association, one important thing is to know and obtain the required licenses/permits before getting your business off the ground.
- First of all, tax registration is compulsory to do especially if your Arkansas business entails selling goods.
In this regard, you’ll register for sales tax by contacting DFA (Department of Finance and Administration).
Whether you’re registering through the Combined Business Tax Registration Form or the online platform (known as Arkansas Taxpayer Access Point), you must contact the DFA and register for employer withholding taxes particularly if you’ll be hiring staff.
- In the second place, you should be acquainted with the various regulatory licenses and permits provided by the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, the Department of Health and certain other agencies within the State.
» Furthermore, it’s suggested that you browse the online platforms of the Arkansas county or city wish to do your business.
This way, you’ll find out the local licenses and permits applicable to that county or city.
» There is ASBTDC (Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Centre) which generally guides you on the small business taxes, permits, and licenses required for doing business in Arkansas.
» On condition that you’d like to work in one of Arkansas’ various professional/occupational fields, you may have to obtain additional licenses.
To know the professions/occupations licensed in this regard, visit Arkansas business website and check out the website’s section tagged as ”Professional Licensing”.
Also noteworthy is that Arkansas’ regulatory permits and licenses span a number of areas including:
(i) specific industries/services
(ii) the environment
(iii) building construction, and
(iv) health and safety.